HIV cases in the North East have soared in the last five years, health experts have revealed.

Today is World Aids Day and doctors are warning the killer disease is spreading quicker than ever.

In the last 20 years, 1,661 people in the region have been diagnosed with HIV.

In 1998, there were 67 new cases but during 2002 this almost doubled to 112.

In Sunderland alone there has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of diagnosed victims in the last year from 226 to 295.

There are an estimated 33,000 people with HIV, which leads to Aids, in the UK and a third don't know they have it.

The disease is also now spreading faster among heterosexuals than among the gay community.

Dr Mike Snow, of Newcastle General Hospital, diagnosed the region's first HIV case in 1984.

He said: "Those who are sexually active and have more than one partner must not be complacent."

HIV is a virus that hits the body's immune system so it can no longer fight certain infections. It develops into full blown Aids (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) when a victim contracts an illness as a direct result of HIV weakening their immune system.

Kim McGarry is a specialist for Co Durham's health promotion service.

She said: "There is still a lot of ignorance about how the disease is caught, despite widespread publicity. In the UK, it is very unlikely the virus can be spread through transfusions as all donated blood is screened for HIV.

"It is also important to know you can't get HIV from kissing, touching, holding hands, sharing eating utensils, toilet seats, swimming pools and insect bites."

She has organised an awareness-raising event in Durham City today to highlight the stigma and discrimination sufferers endure.

A memorial service is also being held at 7pm tonight at Durham Cathedral for families and friends of those who have died of the disease. For free and confidential information call the National Aids Helpline on (0800) 567123.

Page 2: Virus breaks the immune system

Virus breaks the immune system

Aids was first discovered in 1981, when the New York Times reported an outbreak of a rare form of cancer among gay men.

The disease was given the name Aids about a year later by the US Centre for Disease Control, which linked it to blood.

Although the disease was initially seen by many as a "gay" disease, heterosexual sufferers now outnumber homosexuals by millions.

The main ways of contracting the disease are by having penetrative sex without a condom with someone who has HIV; by using needles, syringes or other drug-injecting equipment infected with virus; and by receiving blood infected with HIV as part of medical treatment.

Aids stands for acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome. It took some time to discover it was caused by a virus, called the human immuno-deficiency virus, or HIV, which someone can carry for 10 years before developing Aids.

Once a sufferer has Aids, the immune system is so ravaged that a small cut can become so infected as to be lethal, while a boil can spread all over the body.